10 Incentives That Will Improve Student Motivation In Any Classroom

Incentives can increase participation and motivation, check out these 10 that can increase both for your students.
By 
Jordan Pruitt
 | 
April 26, 2023

The go-to for local groups to get participation? Food! Want a booster club meeting to be well attended? Bring some BBQ! 

The government offers incentives for larger actions as well. Does anybody remember “cash for clunkers”? Or more recently many places offered incentives for getting your Covid Vaccine and/or booster shot. 

When I began teaching I did not think about incentives as a classroom management tool. I felt like students should have an internal motivation to want to succeed. 

My preconception was flawed.

My students did have that internal motivation, but that doesn’t mean that external motivators weren’t still useful or in some cases necessary to use as accelerators to learning.

Why Do We Need Incentives?

Looking at the examples I listed above, it would seem that representatives from business, government, and education all agree that motivation matters. 

For our classroom, this could mean if the student isn’t motivated to participate, they won’t be successful. Some of us are intrinsically motivated. 

No matter what the task, we will try to do our very best. I find that this doesn’t often apply to every facet of our lives though.

Some of us are very motivated to go to work, but maybe not to exercise. Or you're very motivated to go for a walk, but you put off doing your taxes. We tend to be motivated to do the things we are good at or that we enjoy. I enjoy exercise, I make time for it and don’t skip it. 

I enjoy eating healthy considerably less so. So my diet requires some motivation. So I incentivized myself with “cheat day” rewards. 

I find that educators are normal folks who enjoyed school. Or that at the very least they were very successful in school. So they may not have needed much motivation. This can lead to some bias in our field and possibly some unrealistic expectations of our students. 

Many of our kids need the motivation to stay engaged and succeed at subjects or aspects of school that they may not love or excel in, to begin with. Just like I need to look forward to Taco Tuesday to get through my salad lunches the rest of the week.

Veteran educators know that self-motivated do exist but they are often the exception, not the rule. So how do we reach everyone else? Consistent use of incentives can help with morale and motivation. Not only can they help with the unmotivated, but they are also quite useful at pushing the internally motivated to exceed beyond expectations. 

Why would the fastest athlete want to run faster? Because there is a record to be set and a medal to be won for doing so. This is why I like to think of incentives not as a distraction from learning, but as a learning accelerator. 

Humans like to be recognized and rewarded, and when you do so, they are more likely to do so again. We all like to know that our effort is appreciated. Keep reading for some ideas on how to create incentive opportunities in your class. 

Incentives That Will Improve Motivation and Behavior

1. Stickers

A classic. Who doesn’t love a “good job” sticker?! They are cheap and surprisingly useful for all ages. 

Classroom Incentive Example

2. Time

Allow students to earn free time or screen time. Have trouble staying on task? Ask them to commit to 20 uninterrupted minutes of engagement to earn 5 minutes of free time. This also can help you chunk up your lessons.

3. Choice

Build in some extension activities your students can choose once they complete the required material.

My wife teaches elementary and she has built a mini-library of books and magazines for her students. Mostly free or very cheap from 2nd-hand book stores.

I taught high school science and I kept "STEM boxes" in my room. They were prepackaged STEM challenges that students could build if they had free time in my room.

Classroom Incentive Example

4. Music

I work better with music. I know this isn’t universal but I did find that the vast majority of my students enjoyed it when I would play music during class. 

I was late to this as a teacher though, I always assumed they wouldn’t like my taste in music or I couldn’t find school-appropriate tunes. Turns out the classics are classic for a reason! My go-to's were the 70s/80s rock playlists or classical music.

5. Candy

If you walked in to observe the start of my class you would find a bell ringer on the board. You would see students working on that task. 

If you stuck around to hear us go over the task you might also get tagged with a flying Jolly Rancher as it zips past you to one of my students who has answered the prompt correctly. 

6. Dance or Movement

A good brain break can go a long way. Similar to the incentive of time, except you will structure some movement breaks you or a student can lead if the class stays on task for x amount of time.

7. Coupons

Create a list of coupons your students can earn through good deeds. Be creative and keep it fun. The coupons can be things they save to build towards a larger reward or that they can use for specific purposes like an exit slip pass.

8. Mystery Box

Go to the dollar store and find a large bag of assorted toys or books. Add in a big bag of mixed candy. Put them in a box that conceals the contents and cut out a slot on top for students to reach in. 

The cost of the items should be negligible. The appeal here is the mystery of the contents.

Classroom Incentive Example

9. Show and Tell

Allow students to earn some stage time in your room. This is a great chance to build community within your group and to allow them to potentially share some of their unique culture or experiences with their friends.

This is another classic, I still remember a friend of mine in 4th grade teaching us how his family makes molasses.

10. The Big Event

Build towards a pizza party or an ice cream social or a movie day or something else your kids will look forward to. 

Classroom Incentive Example

Keep It Simple, Keep Your Focus

Remember your goal when establishing an incentive program: You want to create the highest level of engagement in the most learner-friendly environment possible. 

Or you want to accelerate an already established positive learning environment you can add in attendance incentives. Keep it simple, keep it fun, and make it your own. Want incentives more specific to your grade level? Try our resources built around elementary school incentives, incentive ideas for middle school students, or incentives for high school students.

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10 Incentives That Will Improve Student Motivation In Any Classroom

Incentives can increase participation and motivation, check out these 10 that can increase both for your students.
By 
Jordan Pruitt
 | 
April 26, 2023
Smart businesses incentivize their employees with rewards and bonuses. These could be performance or attendance-based. Communities offer incentives for their citizens to participate in local projects.

The go-to for local groups to get participation? Food! Want a booster club meeting to be well attended? Bring some BBQ! 

The government offers incentives for larger actions as well. Does anybody remember “cash for clunkers”? Or more recently many places offered incentives for getting your Covid Vaccine and/or booster shot. 

When I began teaching I did not think about incentives as a classroom management tool. I felt like students should have an internal motivation to want to succeed. 

My preconception was flawed.

My students did have that internal motivation, but that doesn’t mean that external motivators weren’t still useful or in some cases necessary to use as accelerators to learning.

Why Do We Need Incentives?

Looking at the examples I listed above, it would seem that representatives from business, government, and education all agree that motivation matters. 

For our classroom, this could mean if the student isn’t motivated to participate, they won’t be successful. Some of us are intrinsically motivated. 

No matter what the task, we will try to do our very best. I find that this doesn’t often apply to every facet of our lives though.

Some of us are very motivated to go to work, but maybe not to exercise. Or you're very motivated to go for a walk, but you put off doing your taxes. We tend to be motivated to do the things we are good at or that we enjoy. I enjoy exercise, I make time for it and don’t skip it. 

I enjoy eating healthy considerably less so. So my diet requires some motivation. So I incentivized myself with “cheat day” rewards. 

I find that educators are normal folks who enjoyed school. Or that at the very least they were very successful in school. So they may not have needed much motivation. This can lead to some bias in our field and possibly some unrealistic expectations of our students. 

Many of our kids need the motivation to stay engaged and succeed at subjects or aspects of school that they may not love or excel in, to begin with. Just like I need to look forward to Taco Tuesday to get through my salad lunches the rest of the week.

Veteran educators know that self-motivated do exist but they are often the exception, not the rule. So how do we reach everyone else? Consistent use of incentives can help with morale and motivation. Not only can they help with the unmotivated, but they are also quite useful at pushing the internally motivated to exceed beyond expectations. 

Why would the fastest athlete want to run faster? Because there is a record to be set and a medal to be won for doing so. This is why I like to think of incentives not as a distraction from learning, but as a learning accelerator. 

Humans like to be recognized and rewarded, and when you do so, they are more likely to do so again. We all like to know that our effort is appreciated. Keep reading for some ideas on how to create incentive opportunities in your class. 

Incentives That Will Improve Motivation and Behavior

1. Stickers

A classic. Who doesn’t love a “good job” sticker?! They are cheap and surprisingly useful for all ages. 

Classroom Incentive Example

2. Time

Allow students to earn free time or screen time. Have trouble staying on task? Ask them to commit to 20 uninterrupted minutes of engagement to earn 5 minutes of free time. This also can help you chunk up your lessons.

3. Choice

Build in some extension activities your students can choose once they complete the required material.

My wife teaches elementary and she has built a mini-library of books and magazines for her students. Mostly free or very cheap from 2nd-hand book stores.

I taught high school science and I kept "STEM boxes" in my room. They were prepackaged STEM challenges that students could build if they had free time in my room.

Classroom Incentive Example

4. Music

I work better with music. I know this isn’t universal but I did find that the vast majority of my students enjoyed it when I would play music during class. 

I was late to this as a teacher though, I always assumed they wouldn’t like my taste in music or I couldn’t find school-appropriate tunes. Turns out the classics are classic for a reason! My go-to's were the 70s/80s rock playlists or classical music.

5. Candy

If you walked in to observe the start of my class you would find a bell ringer on the board. You would see students working on that task. 

If you stuck around to hear us go over the task you might also get tagged with a flying Jolly Rancher as it zips past you to one of my students who has answered the prompt correctly. 

6. Dance or Movement

A good brain break can go a long way. Similar to the incentive of time, except you will structure some movement breaks you or a student can lead if the class stays on task for x amount of time.

7. Coupons

Create a list of coupons your students can earn through good deeds. Be creative and keep it fun. The coupons can be things they save to build towards a larger reward or that they can use for specific purposes like an exit slip pass.

8. Mystery Box

Go to the dollar store and find a large bag of assorted toys or books. Add in a big bag of mixed candy. Put them in a box that conceals the contents and cut out a slot on top for students to reach in. 

The cost of the items should be negligible. The appeal here is the mystery of the contents.

Classroom Incentive Example

9. Show and Tell

Allow students to earn some stage time in your room. This is a great chance to build community within your group and to allow them to potentially share some of their unique culture or experiences with their friends.

This is another classic, I still remember a friend of mine in 4th grade teaching us how his family makes molasses.

10. The Big Event

Build towards a pizza party or an ice cream social or a movie day or something else your kids will look forward to. 

Classroom Incentive Example

Keep It Simple, Keep Your Focus

Remember your goal when establishing an incentive program: You want to create the highest level of engagement in the most learner-friendly environment possible. 

Or you want to accelerate an already established positive learning environment you can add in attendance incentives. Keep it simple, keep it fun, and make it your own. Want incentives more specific to your grade level? Try our resources built around elementary school incentives, incentive ideas for middle school students, or incentives for high school students.

Back
Let’s take this to your inbox
We’ll send you our monthly newsletter which is fully stocked with free resources like articles, videos, podcasts, reward ideas, and anything else we can think of to help you make your school awesome.
Smart businesses incentivize their employees with rewards and bonuses. These could be performance or attendance-based. Communities offer incentives for their citizens to participate in local projects.

The go-to for local groups to get participation? Food! Want a booster club meeting to be well attended? Bring some BBQ! 

The government offers incentives for larger actions as well. Does anybody remember “cash for clunkers”? Or more recently many places offered incentives for getting your Covid Vaccine and/or booster shot. 

When I began teaching I did not think about incentives as a classroom management tool. I felt like students should have an internal motivation to want to succeed. 

My preconception was flawed.

My students did have that internal motivation, but that doesn’t mean that external motivators weren’t still useful or in some cases necessary to use as accelerators to learning.

Why Do We Need Incentives?

Looking at the examples I listed above, it would seem that representatives from business, government, and education all agree that motivation matters. 

For our classroom, this could mean if the student isn’t motivated to participate, they won’t be successful. Some of us are intrinsically motivated. 

No matter what the task, we will try to do our very best. I find that this doesn’t often apply to every facet of our lives though.

Some of us are very motivated to go to work, but maybe not to exercise. Or you're very motivated to go for a walk, but you put off doing your taxes. We tend to be motivated to do the things we are good at or that we enjoy. I enjoy exercise, I make time for it and don’t skip it. 

I enjoy eating healthy considerably less so. So my diet requires some motivation. So I incentivized myself with “cheat day” rewards. 

I find that educators are normal folks who enjoyed school. Or that at the very least they were very successful in school. So they may not have needed much motivation. This can lead to some bias in our field and possibly some unrealistic expectations of our students. 

Many of our kids need the motivation to stay engaged and succeed at subjects or aspects of school that they may not love or excel in, to begin with. Just like I need to look forward to Taco Tuesday to get through my salad lunches the rest of the week.

Veteran educators know that self-motivated do exist but they are often the exception, not the rule. So how do we reach everyone else? Consistent use of incentives can help with morale and motivation. Not only can they help with the unmotivated, but they are also quite useful at pushing the internally motivated to exceed beyond expectations. 

Why would the fastest athlete want to run faster? Because there is a record to be set and a medal to be won for doing so. This is why I like to think of incentives not as a distraction from learning, but as a learning accelerator. 

Humans like to be recognized and rewarded, and when you do so, they are more likely to do so again. We all like to know that our effort is appreciated. Keep reading for some ideas on how to create incentive opportunities in your class. 

Incentives That Will Improve Motivation and Behavior

1. Stickers

A classic. Who doesn’t love a “good job” sticker?! They are cheap and surprisingly useful for all ages. 

Classroom Incentive Example

2. Time

Allow students to earn free time or screen time. Have trouble staying on task? Ask them to commit to 20 uninterrupted minutes of engagement to earn 5 minutes of free time. This also can help you chunk up your lessons.

3. Choice

Build in some extension activities your students can choose once they complete the required material.

My wife teaches elementary and she has built a mini-library of books and magazines for her students. Mostly free or very cheap from 2nd-hand book stores.

I taught high school science and I kept "STEM boxes" in my room. They were prepackaged STEM challenges that students could build if they had free time in my room.

Classroom Incentive Example

4. Music

I work better with music. I know this isn’t universal but I did find that the vast majority of my students enjoyed it when I would play music during class. 

I was late to this as a teacher though, I always assumed they wouldn’t like my taste in music or I couldn’t find school-appropriate tunes. Turns out the classics are classic for a reason! My go-to's were the 70s/80s rock playlists or classical music.

5. Candy

If you walked in to observe the start of my class you would find a bell ringer on the board. You would see students working on that task. 

If you stuck around to hear us go over the task you might also get tagged with a flying Jolly Rancher as it zips past you to one of my students who has answered the prompt correctly. 

6. Dance or Movement

A good brain break can go a long way. Similar to the incentive of time, except you will structure some movement breaks you or a student can lead if the class stays on task for x amount of time.

7. Coupons

Create a list of coupons your students can earn through good deeds. Be creative and keep it fun. The coupons can be things they save to build towards a larger reward or that they can use for specific purposes like an exit slip pass.

8. Mystery Box

Go to the dollar store and find a large bag of assorted toys or books. Add in a big bag of mixed candy. Put them in a box that conceals the contents and cut out a slot on top for students to reach in. 

The cost of the items should be negligible. The appeal here is the mystery of the contents.

Classroom Incentive Example

9. Show and Tell

Allow students to earn some stage time in your room. This is a great chance to build community within your group and to allow them to potentially share some of their unique culture or experiences with their friends.

This is another classic, I still remember a friend of mine in 4th grade teaching us how his family makes molasses.

10. The Big Event

Build towards a pizza party or an ice cream social or a movie day or something else your kids will look forward to. 

Classroom Incentive Example

Keep It Simple, Keep Your Focus

Remember your goal when establishing an incentive program: You want to create the highest level of engagement in the most learner-friendly environment possible. 

Or you want to accelerate an already established positive learning environment you can add in attendance incentives. Keep it simple, keep it fun, and make it your own. Want incentives more specific to your grade level? Try our resources built around elementary school incentives, incentive ideas for middle school students, or incentives for high school students.

The go-to for local groups to get participation? Food! Want a booster club meeting to be well attended? Bring some BBQ! 

The government offers incentives for larger actions as well. Does anybody remember “cash for clunkers”? Or more recently many places offered incentives for getting your Covid Vaccine and/or booster shot. 

When I began teaching I did not think about incentives as a classroom management tool. I felt like students should have an internal motivation to want to succeed. 

My preconception was flawed.

My students did have that internal motivation, but that doesn’t mean that external motivators weren’t still useful or in some cases necessary to use as accelerators to learning.

Why Do We Need Incentives?

Looking at the examples I listed above, it would seem that representatives from business, government, and education all agree that motivation matters. 

For our classroom, this could mean if the student isn’t motivated to participate, they won’t be successful. Some of us are intrinsically motivated. 

No matter what the task, we will try to do our very best. I find that this doesn’t often apply to every facet of our lives though.

Some of us are very motivated to go to work, but maybe not to exercise. Or you're very motivated to go for a walk, but you put off doing your taxes. We tend to be motivated to do the things we are good at or that we enjoy. I enjoy exercise, I make time for it and don’t skip it. 

I enjoy eating healthy considerably less so. So my diet requires some motivation. So I incentivized myself with “cheat day” rewards. 

I find that educators are normal folks who enjoyed school. Or that at the very least they were very successful in school. So they may not have needed much motivation. This can lead to some bias in our field and possibly some unrealistic expectations of our students. 

Many of our kids need the motivation to stay engaged and succeed at subjects or aspects of school that they may not love or excel in, to begin with. Just like I need to look forward to Taco Tuesday to get through my salad lunches the rest of the week.

Veteran educators know that self-motivated do exist but they are often the exception, not the rule. So how do we reach everyone else? Consistent use of incentives can help with morale and motivation. Not only can they help with the unmotivated, but they are also quite useful at pushing the internally motivated to exceed beyond expectations. 

Why would the fastest athlete want to run faster? Because there is a record to be set and a medal to be won for doing so. This is why I like to think of incentives not as a distraction from learning, but as a learning accelerator. 

Humans like to be recognized and rewarded, and when you do so, they are more likely to do so again. We all like to know that our effort is appreciated. Keep reading for some ideas on how to create incentive opportunities in your class. 

Incentives That Will Improve Motivation and Behavior

1. Stickers

A classic. Who doesn’t love a “good job” sticker?! They are cheap and surprisingly useful for all ages. 

Classroom Incentive Example

2. Time

Allow students to earn free time or screen time. Have trouble staying on task? Ask them to commit to 20 uninterrupted minutes of engagement to earn 5 minutes of free time. This also can help you chunk up your lessons.

3. Choice

Build in some extension activities your students can choose once they complete the required material.

My wife teaches elementary and she has built a mini-library of books and magazines for her students. Mostly free or very cheap from 2nd-hand book stores.

I taught high school science and I kept "STEM boxes" in my room. They were prepackaged STEM challenges that students could build if they had free time in my room.

Classroom Incentive Example

4. Music

I work better with music. I know this isn’t universal but I did find that the vast majority of my students enjoyed it when I would play music during class. 

I was late to this as a teacher though, I always assumed they wouldn’t like my taste in music or I couldn’t find school-appropriate tunes. Turns out the classics are classic for a reason! My go-to's were the 70s/80s rock playlists or classical music.

5. Candy

If you walked in to observe the start of my class you would find a bell ringer on the board. You would see students working on that task. 

If you stuck around to hear us go over the task you might also get tagged with a flying Jolly Rancher as it zips past you to one of my students who has answered the prompt correctly. 

6. Dance or Movement

A good brain break can go a long way. Similar to the incentive of time, except you will structure some movement breaks you or a student can lead if the class stays on task for x amount of time.

7. Coupons

Create a list of coupons your students can earn through good deeds. Be creative and keep it fun. The coupons can be things they save to build towards a larger reward or that they can use for specific purposes like an exit slip pass.

8. Mystery Box

Go to the dollar store and find a large bag of assorted toys or books. Add in a big bag of mixed candy. Put them in a box that conceals the contents and cut out a slot on top for students to reach in. 

The cost of the items should be negligible. The appeal here is the mystery of the contents.

Classroom Incentive Example

9. Show and Tell

Allow students to earn some stage time in your room. This is a great chance to build community within your group and to allow them to potentially share some of their unique culture or experiences with their friends.

This is another classic, I still remember a friend of mine in 4th grade teaching us how his family makes molasses.

10. The Big Event

Build towards a pizza party or an ice cream social or a movie day or something else your kids will look forward to. 

Classroom Incentive Example

Keep It Simple, Keep Your Focus

Remember your goal when establishing an incentive program: You want to create the highest level of engagement in the most learner-friendly environment possible. 

Or you want to accelerate an already established positive learning environment you can add in attendance incentives. Keep it simple, keep it fun, and make it your own. Want incentives more specific to your grade level? Try our resources built around elementary school incentives, incentive ideas for middle school students, or incentives for high school students.

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Back
Let’s take this to your inbox
We’ll send you our monthly newsletter which is fully stocked with free resources like articles, videos, podcasts, reward ideas, and anything else we can think of to help you make your school awesome.

The go-to for local groups to get participation? Food! Want a booster club meeting to be well attended? Bring some BBQ! 

The government offers incentives for larger actions as well. Does anybody remember “cash for clunkers”? Or more recently many places offered incentives for getting your Covid Vaccine and/or booster shot. 

When I began teaching I did not think about incentives as a classroom management tool. I felt like students should have an internal motivation to want to succeed. 

My preconception was flawed.

My students did have that internal motivation, but that doesn’t mean that external motivators weren’t still useful or in some cases necessary to use as accelerators to learning.

Why Do We Need Incentives?

Looking at the examples I listed above, it would seem that representatives from business, government, and education all agree that motivation matters. 

For our classroom, this could mean if the student isn’t motivated to participate, they won’t be successful. Some of us are intrinsically motivated. 

No matter what the task, we will try to do our very best. I find that this doesn’t often apply to every facet of our lives though.

Some of us are very motivated to go to work, but maybe not to exercise. Or you're very motivated to go for a walk, but you put off doing your taxes. We tend to be motivated to do the things we are good at or that we enjoy. I enjoy exercise, I make time for it and don’t skip it. 

I enjoy eating healthy considerably less so. So my diet requires some motivation. So I incentivized myself with “cheat day” rewards. 

I find that educators are normal folks who enjoyed school. Or that at the very least they were very successful in school. So they may not have needed much motivation. This can lead to some bias in our field and possibly some unrealistic expectations of our students. 

Many of our kids need the motivation to stay engaged and succeed at subjects or aspects of school that they may not love or excel in, to begin with. Just like I need to look forward to Taco Tuesday to get through my salad lunches the rest of the week.

Veteran educators know that self-motivated do exist but they are often the exception, not the rule. So how do we reach everyone else? Consistent use of incentives can help with morale and motivation. Not only can they help with the unmotivated, but they are also quite useful at pushing the internally motivated to exceed beyond expectations. 

Why would the fastest athlete want to run faster? Because there is a record to be set and a medal to be won for doing so. This is why I like to think of incentives not as a distraction from learning, but as a learning accelerator. 

Humans like to be recognized and rewarded, and when you do so, they are more likely to do so again. We all like to know that our effort is appreciated. Keep reading for some ideas on how to create incentive opportunities in your class. 

Incentives That Will Improve Motivation and Behavior

1. Stickers

A classic. Who doesn’t love a “good job” sticker?! They are cheap and surprisingly useful for all ages. 

Classroom Incentive Example

2. Time

Allow students to earn free time or screen time. Have trouble staying on task? Ask them to commit to 20 uninterrupted minutes of engagement to earn 5 minutes of free time. This also can help you chunk up your lessons.

3. Choice

Build in some extension activities your students can choose once they complete the required material.

My wife teaches elementary and she has built a mini-library of books and magazines for her students. Mostly free or very cheap from 2nd-hand book stores.

I taught high school science and I kept "STEM boxes" in my room. They were prepackaged STEM challenges that students could build if they had free time in my room.

Classroom Incentive Example

4. Music

I work better with music. I know this isn’t universal but I did find that the vast majority of my students enjoyed it when I would play music during class. 

I was late to this as a teacher though, I always assumed they wouldn’t like my taste in music or I couldn’t find school-appropriate tunes. Turns out the classics are classic for a reason! My go-to's were the 70s/80s rock playlists or classical music.

5. Candy

If you walked in to observe the start of my class you would find a bell ringer on the board. You would see students working on that task. 

If you stuck around to hear us go over the task you might also get tagged with a flying Jolly Rancher as it zips past you to one of my students who has answered the prompt correctly. 

6. Dance or Movement

A good brain break can go a long way. Similar to the incentive of time, except you will structure some movement breaks you or a student can lead if the class stays on task for x amount of time.

7. Coupons

Create a list of coupons your students can earn through good deeds. Be creative and keep it fun. The coupons can be things they save to build towards a larger reward or that they can use for specific purposes like an exit slip pass.

8. Mystery Box

Go to the dollar store and find a large bag of assorted toys or books. Add in a big bag of mixed candy. Put them in a box that conceals the contents and cut out a slot on top for students to reach in. 

The cost of the items should be negligible. The appeal here is the mystery of the contents.

Classroom Incentive Example

9. Show and Tell

Allow students to earn some stage time in your room. This is a great chance to build community within your group and to allow them to potentially share some of their unique culture or experiences with their friends.

This is another classic, I still remember a friend of mine in 4th grade teaching us how his family makes molasses.

10. The Big Event

Build towards a pizza party or an ice cream social or a movie day or something else your kids will look forward to. 

Classroom Incentive Example

Keep It Simple, Keep Your Focus

Remember your goal when establishing an incentive program: You want to create the highest level of engagement in the most learner-friendly environment possible. 

Or you want to accelerate an already established positive learning environment you can add in attendance incentives. Keep it simple, keep it fun, and make it your own. Want incentives more specific to your grade level? Try our resources built around elementary school incentives, incentive ideas for middle school students, or incentives for high school students.

10 Incentives That Will Improve Student Motivation In Any Classroom

Incentives can increase participation and motivation, check out these 10 that can increase both for your students.
By 
Jordan Pruitt
 | 
April 26, 2023

The go-to for local groups to get participation? Food! Want a booster club meeting to be well attended? Bring some BBQ! 

The government offers incentives for larger actions as well. Does anybody remember “cash for clunkers”? Or more recently many places offered incentives for getting your Covid Vaccine and/or booster shot. 

When I began teaching I did not think about incentives as a classroom management tool. I felt like students should have an internal motivation to want to succeed. 

My preconception was flawed.

My students did have that internal motivation, but that doesn’t mean that external motivators weren’t still useful or in some cases necessary to use as accelerators to learning.

Why Do We Need Incentives?

Looking at the examples I listed above, it would seem that representatives from business, government, and education all agree that motivation matters. 

For our classroom, this could mean if the student isn’t motivated to participate, they won’t be successful. Some of us are intrinsically motivated. 

No matter what the task, we will try to do our very best. I find that this doesn’t often apply to every facet of our lives though.

Some of us are very motivated to go to work, but maybe not to exercise. Or you're very motivated to go for a walk, but you put off doing your taxes. We tend to be motivated to do the things we are good at or that we enjoy. I enjoy exercise, I make time for it and don’t skip it. 

I enjoy eating healthy considerably less so. So my diet requires some motivation. So I incentivized myself with “cheat day” rewards. 

I find that educators are normal folks who enjoyed school. Or that at the very least they were very successful in school. So they may not have needed much motivation. This can lead to some bias in our field and possibly some unrealistic expectations of our students. 

Many of our kids need the motivation to stay engaged and succeed at subjects or aspects of school that they may not love or excel in, to begin with. Just like I need to look forward to Taco Tuesday to get through my salad lunches the rest of the week.

Veteran educators know that self-motivated do exist but they are often the exception, not the rule. So how do we reach everyone else? Consistent use of incentives can help with morale and motivation. Not only can they help with the unmotivated, but they are also quite useful at pushing the internally motivated to exceed beyond expectations. 

Why would the fastest athlete want to run faster? Because there is a record to be set and a medal to be won for doing so. This is why I like to think of incentives not as a distraction from learning, but as a learning accelerator. 

Humans like to be recognized and rewarded, and when you do so, they are more likely to do so again. We all like to know that our effort is appreciated. Keep reading for some ideas on how to create incentive opportunities in your class. 

Incentives That Will Improve Motivation and Behavior

1. Stickers

A classic. Who doesn’t love a “good job” sticker?! They are cheap and surprisingly useful for all ages. 

Classroom Incentive Example

2. Time

Allow students to earn free time or screen time. Have trouble staying on task? Ask them to commit to 20 uninterrupted minutes of engagement to earn 5 minutes of free time. This also can help you chunk up your lessons.

3. Choice

Build in some extension activities your students can choose once they complete the required material.

My wife teaches elementary and she has built a mini-library of books and magazines for her students. Mostly free or very cheap from 2nd-hand book stores.

I taught high school science and I kept "STEM boxes" in my room. They were prepackaged STEM challenges that students could build if they had free time in my room.

Classroom Incentive Example

4. Music

I work better with music. I know this isn’t universal but I did find that the vast majority of my students enjoyed it when I would play music during class. 

I was late to this as a teacher though, I always assumed they wouldn’t like my taste in music or I couldn’t find school-appropriate tunes. Turns out the classics are classic for a reason! My go-to's were the 70s/80s rock playlists or classical music.

5. Candy

If you walked in to observe the start of my class you would find a bell ringer on the board. You would see students working on that task. 

If you stuck around to hear us go over the task you might also get tagged with a flying Jolly Rancher as it zips past you to one of my students who has answered the prompt correctly. 

6. Dance or Movement

A good brain break can go a long way. Similar to the incentive of time, except you will structure some movement breaks you or a student can lead if the class stays on task for x amount of time.

7. Coupons

Create a list of coupons your students can earn through good deeds. Be creative and keep it fun. The coupons can be things they save to build towards a larger reward or that they can use for specific purposes like an exit slip pass.

8. Mystery Box

Go to the dollar store and find a large bag of assorted toys or books. Add in a big bag of mixed candy. Put them in a box that conceals the contents and cut out a slot on top for students to reach in. 

The cost of the items should be negligible. The appeal here is the mystery of the contents.

Classroom Incentive Example

9. Show and Tell

Allow students to earn some stage time in your room. This is a great chance to build community within your group and to allow them to potentially share some of their unique culture or experiences with their friends.

This is another classic, I still remember a friend of mine in 4th grade teaching us how his family makes molasses.

10. The Big Event

Build towards a pizza party or an ice cream social or a movie day or something else your kids will look forward to. 

Classroom Incentive Example

Keep It Simple, Keep Your Focus

Remember your goal when establishing an incentive program: You want to create the highest level of engagement in the most learner-friendly environment possible. 

Or you want to accelerate an already established positive learning environment you can add in attendance incentives. Keep it simple, keep it fun, and make it your own. Want incentives more specific to your grade level? Try our resources built around elementary school incentives, incentive ideas for middle school students, or incentives for high school students.

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About the Presenter

Jordan resides in Lexington, Kentucky. He has experience in Public Education as an Administrator, Science Teacher, and as a Coach. He has extensive experience with School Discipline, PBIS, SEL, Restorative Practices, MTSS, and Trauma-Informed Care.

About the Event

The go-to for local groups to get participation? Food! Want a booster club meeting to be well attended? Bring some BBQ! 

The government offers incentives for larger actions as well. Does anybody remember “cash for clunkers”? Or more recently many places offered incentives for getting your Covid Vaccine and/or booster shot. 

When I began teaching I did not think about incentives as a classroom management tool. I felt like students should have an internal motivation to want to succeed. 

My preconception was flawed.

My students did have that internal motivation, but that doesn’t mean that external motivators weren’t still useful or in some cases necessary to use as accelerators to learning.

Why Do We Need Incentives?

Looking at the examples I listed above, it would seem that representatives from business, government, and education all agree that motivation matters. 

For our classroom, this could mean if the student isn’t motivated to participate, they won’t be successful. Some of us are intrinsically motivated. 

No matter what the task, we will try to do our very best. I find that this doesn’t often apply to every facet of our lives though.

Some of us are very motivated to go to work, but maybe not to exercise. Or you're very motivated to go for a walk, but you put off doing your taxes. We tend to be motivated to do the things we are good at or that we enjoy. I enjoy exercise, I make time for it and don’t skip it. 

I enjoy eating healthy considerably less so. So my diet requires some motivation. So I incentivized myself with “cheat day” rewards. 

I find that educators are normal folks who enjoyed school. Or that at the very least they were very successful in school. So they may not have needed much motivation. This can lead to some bias in our field and possibly some unrealistic expectations of our students. 

Many of our kids need the motivation to stay engaged and succeed at subjects or aspects of school that they may not love or excel in, to begin with. Just like I need to look forward to Taco Tuesday to get through my salad lunches the rest of the week.

Veteran educators know that self-motivated do exist but they are often the exception, not the rule. So how do we reach everyone else? Consistent use of incentives can help with morale and motivation. Not only can they help with the unmotivated, but they are also quite useful at pushing the internally motivated to exceed beyond expectations. 

Why would the fastest athlete want to run faster? Because there is a record to be set and a medal to be won for doing so. This is why I like to think of incentives not as a distraction from learning, but as a learning accelerator. 

Humans like to be recognized and rewarded, and when you do so, they are more likely to do so again. We all like to know that our effort is appreciated. Keep reading for some ideas on how to create incentive opportunities in your class. 

Incentives That Will Improve Motivation and Behavior

1. Stickers

A classic. Who doesn’t love a “good job” sticker?! They are cheap and surprisingly useful for all ages. 

Classroom Incentive Example

2. Time

Allow students to earn free time or screen time. Have trouble staying on task? Ask them to commit to 20 uninterrupted minutes of engagement to earn 5 minutes of free time. This also can help you chunk up your lessons.

3. Choice

Build in some extension activities your students can choose once they complete the required material.

My wife teaches elementary and she has built a mini-library of books and magazines for her students. Mostly free or very cheap from 2nd-hand book stores.

I taught high school science and I kept "STEM boxes" in my room. They were prepackaged STEM challenges that students could build if they had free time in my room.

Classroom Incentive Example

4. Music

I work better with music. I know this isn’t universal but I did find that the vast majority of my students enjoyed it when I would play music during class. 

I was late to this as a teacher though, I always assumed they wouldn’t like my taste in music or I couldn’t find school-appropriate tunes. Turns out the classics are classic for a reason! My go-to's were the 70s/80s rock playlists or classical music.

5. Candy

If you walked in to observe the start of my class you would find a bell ringer on the board. You would see students working on that task. 

If you stuck around to hear us go over the task you might also get tagged with a flying Jolly Rancher as it zips past you to one of my students who has answered the prompt correctly. 

6. Dance or Movement

A good brain break can go a long way. Similar to the incentive of time, except you will structure some movement breaks you or a student can lead if the class stays on task for x amount of time.

7. Coupons

Create a list of coupons your students can earn through good deeds. Be creative and keep it fun. The coupons can be things they save to build towards a larger reward or that they can use for specific purposes like an exit slip pass.

8. Mystery Box

Go to the dollar store and find a large bag of assorted toys or books. Add in a big bag of mixed candy. Put them in a box that conceals the contents and cut out a slot on top for students to reach in. 

The cost of the items should be negligible. The appeal here is the mystery of the contents.

Classroom Incentive Example

9. Show and Tell

Allow students to earn some stage time in your room. This is a great chance to build community within your group and to allow them to potentially share some of their unique culture or experiences with their friends.

This is another classic, I still remember a friend of mine in 4th grade teaching us how his family makes molasses.

10. The Big Event

Build towards a pizza party or an ice cream social or a movie day or something else your kids will look forward to. 

Classroom Incentive Example

Keep It Simple, Keep Your Focus

Remember your goal when establishing an incentive program: You want to create the highest level of engagement in the most learner-friendly environment possible. 

Or you want to accelerate an already established positive learning environment you can add in attendance incentives. Keep it simple, keep it fun, and make it your own. Want incentives more specific to your grade level? Try our resources built around elementary school incentives, incentive ideas for middle school students, or incentives for high school students.

Register Now

About the Event

The go-to for local groups to get participation? Food! Want a booster club meeting to be well attended? Bring some BBQ! 

The government offers incentives for larger actions as well. Does anybody remember “cash for clunkers”? Or more recently many places offered incentives for getting your Covid Vaccine and/or booster shot. 

When I began teaching I did not think about incentives as a classroom management tool. I felt like students should have an internal motivation to want to succeed. 

My preconception was flawed.

My students did have that internal motivation, but that doesn’t mean that external motivators weren’t still useful or in some cases necessary to use as accelerators to learning.

Why Do We Need Incentives?

Looking at the examples I listed above, it would seem that representatives from business, government, and education all agree that motivation matters. 

For our classroom, this could mean if the student isn’t motivated to participate, they won’t be successful. Some of us are intrinsically motivated. 

No matter what the task, we will try to do our very best. I find that this doesn’t often apply to every facet of our lives though.

Some of us are very motivated to go to work, but maybe not to exercise. Or you're very motivated to go for a walk, but you put off doing your taxes. We tend to be motivated to do the things we are good at or that we enjoy. I enjoy exercise, I make time for it and don’t skip it. 

I enjoy eating healthy considerably less so. So my diet requires some motivation. So I incentivized myself with “cheat day” rewards. 

I find that educators are normal folks who enjoyed school. Or that at the very least they were very successful in school. So they may not have needed much motivation. This can lead to some bias in our field and possibly some unrealistic expectations of our students. 

Many of our kids need the motivation to stay engaged and succeed at subjects or aspects of school that they may not love or excel in, to begin with. Just like I need to look forward to Taco Tuesday to get through my salad lunches the rest of the week.

Veteran educators know that self-motivated do exist but they are often the exception, not the rule. So how do we reach everyone else? Consistent use of incentives can help with morale and motivation. Not only can they help with the unmotivated, but they are also quite useful at pushing the internally motivated to exceed beyond expectations. 

Why would the fastest athlete want to run faster? Because there is a record to be set and a medal to be won for doing so. This is why I like to think of incentives not as a distraction from learning, but as a learning accelerator. 

Humans like to be recognized and rewarded, and when you do so, they are more likely to do so again. We all like to know that our effort is appreciated. Keep reading for some ideas on how to create incentive opportunities in your class. 

Incentives That Will Improve Motivation and Behavior

1. Stickers

A classic. Who doesn’t love a “good job” sticker?! They are cheap and surprisingly useful for all ages. 

Classroom Incentive Example

2. Time

Allow students to earn free time or screen time. Have trouble staying on task? Ask them to commit to 20 uninterrupted minutes of engagement to earn 5 minutes of free time. This also can help you chunk up your lessons.

3. Choice

Build in some extension activities your students can choose once they complete the required material.

My wife teaches elementary and she has built a mini-library of books and magazines for her students. Mostly free or very cheap from 2nd-hand book stores.

I taught high school science and I kept "STEM boxes" in my room. They were prepackaged STEM challenges that students could build if they had free time in my room.

Classroom Incentive Example

4. Music

I work better with music. I know this isn’t universal but I did find that the vast majority of my students enjoyed it when I would play music during class. 

I was late to this as a teacher though, I always assumed they wouldn’t like my taste in music or I couldn’t find school-appropriate tunes. Turns out the classics are classic for a reason! My go-to's were the 70s/80s rock playlists or classical music.

5. Candy

If you walked in to observe the start of my class you would find a bell ringer on the board. You would see students working on that task. 

If you stuck around to hear us go over the task you might also get tagged with a flying Jolly Rancher as it zips past you to one of my students who has answered the prompt correctly. 

6. Dance or Movement

A good brain break can go a long way. Similar to the incentive of time, except you will structure some movement breaks you or a student can lead if the class stays on task for x amount of time.

7. Coupons

Create a list of coupons your students can earn through good deeds. Be creative and keep it fun. The coupons can be things they save to build towards a larger reward or that they can use for specific purposes like an exit slip pass.

8. Mystery Box

Go to the dollar store and find a large bag of assorted toys or books. Add in a big bag of mixed candy. Put them in a box that conceals the contents and cut out a slot on top for students to reach in. 

The cost of the items should be negligible. The appeal here is the mystery of the contents.

Classroom Incentive Example

9. Show and Tell

Allow students to earn some stage time in your room. This is a great chance to build community within your group and to allow them to potentially share some of their unique culture or experiences with their friends.

This is another classic, I still remember a friend of mine in 4th grade teaching us how his family makes molasses.

10. The Big Event

Build towards a pizza party or an ice cream social or a movie day or something else your kids will look forward to. 

Classroom Incentive Example

Keep It Simple, Keep Your Focus

Remember your goal when establishing an incentive program: You want to create the highest level of engagement in the most learner-friendly environment possible. 

Or you want to accelerate an already established positive learning environment you can add in attendance incentives. Keep it simple, keep it fun, and make it your own. Want incentives more specific to your grade level? Try our resources built around elementary school incentives, incentive ideas for middle school students, or incentives for high school students.

Arrow left
Back
Let’s take this to your inbox
We’ll send you our monthly newsletter which is fully stocked with free resources like articles, videos, podcasts, reward ideas, and anything else we can think of to help you make your school awesome.

Smart businesses incentivize their employees with rewards and bonuses. These could be performance or attendance-based. Communities offer incentives for their citizens to participate in local projects.

The go-to for local groups to get participation? Food! Want a booster club meeting to be well attended? Bring some BBQ! 

The government offers incentives for larger actions as well. Does anybody remember “cash for clunkers”? Or more recently many places offered incentives for getting your Covid Vaccine and/or booster shot. 

When I began teaching I did not think about incentives as a classroom management tool. I felt like students should have an internal motivation to want to succeed. 

My preconception was flawed.

My students did have that internal motivation, but that doesn’t mean that external motivators weren’t still useful or in some cases necessary to use as accelerators to learning.

Why Do We Need Incentives?

Looking at the examples I listed above, it would seem that representatives from business, government, and education all agree that motivation matters. 

For our classroom, this could mean if the student isn’t motivated to participate, they won’t be successful. Some of us are intrinsically motivated. 

No matter what the task, we will try to do our very best. I find that this doesn’t often apply to every facet of our lives though.

Some of us are very motivated to go to work, but maybe not to exercise. Or you're very motivated to go for a walk, but you put off doing your taxes. We tend to be motivated to do the things we are good at or that we enjoy. I enjoy exercise, I make time for it and don’t skip it. 

I enjoy eating healthy considerably less so. So my diet requires some motivation. So I incentivized myself with “cheat day” rewards. 

I find that educators are normal folks who enjoyed school. Or that at the very least they were very successful in school. So they may not have needed much motivation. This can lead to some bias in our field and possibly some unrealistic expectations of our students. 

Many of our kids need the motivation to stay engaged and succeed at subjects or aspects of school that they may not love or excel in, to begin with. Just like I need to look forward to Taco Tuesday to get through my salad lunches the rest of the week.

Veteran educators know that self-motivated do exist but they are often the exception, not the rule. So how do we reach everyone else? Consistent use of incentives can help with morale and motivation. Not only can they help with the unmotivated, but they are also quite useful at pushing the internally motivated to exceed beyond expectations. 

Why would the fastest athlete want to run faster? Because there is a record to be set and a medal to be won for doing so. This is why I like to think of incentives not as a distraction from learning, but as a learning accelerator. 

Humans like to be recognized and rewarded, and when you do so, they are more likely to do so again. We all like to know that our effort is appreciated. Keep reading for some ideas on how to create incentive opportunities in your class. 

Incentives That Will Improve Motivation and Behavior

1. Stickers

A classic. Who doesn’t love a “good job” sticker?! They are cheap and surprisingly useful for all ages. 

Classroom Incentive Example

2. Time

Allow students to earn free time or screen time. Have trouble staying on task? Ask them to commit to 20 uninterrupted minutes of engagement to earn 5 minutes of free time. This also can help you chunk up your lessons.

3. Choice

Build in some extension activities your students can choose once they complete the required material.

My wife teaches elementary and she has built a mini-library of books and magazines for her students. Mostly free or very cheap from 2nd-hand book stores.

I taught high school science and I kept "STEM boxes" in my room. They were prepackaged STEM challenges that students could build if they had free time in my room.

Classroom Incentive Example

4. Music

I work better with music. I know this isn’t universal but I did find that the vast majority of my students enjoyed it when I would play music during class. 

I was late to this as a teacher though, I always assumed they wouldn’t like my taste in music or I couldn’t find school-appropriate tunes. Turns out the classics are classic for a reason! My go-to's were the 70s/80s rock playlists or classical music.

5. Candy

If you walked in to observe the start of my class you would find a bell ringer on the board. You would see students working on that task. 

If you stuck around to hear us go over the task you might also get tagged with a flying Jolly Rancher as it zips past you to one of my students who has answered the prompt correctly. 

6. Dance or Movement

A good brain break can go a long way. Similar to the incentive of time, except you will structure some movement breaks you or a student can lead if the class stays on task for x amount of time.

7. Coupons

Create a list of coupons your students can earn through good deeds. Be creative and keep it fun. The coupons can be things they save to build towards a larger reward or that they can use for specific purposes like an exit slip pass.

8. Mystery Box

Go to the dollar store and find a large bag of assorted toys or books. Add in a big bag of mixed candy. Put them in a box that conceals the contents and cut out a slot on top for students to reach in. 

The cost of the items should be negligible. The appeal here is the mystery of the contents.

Classroom Incentive Example

9. Show and Tell

Allow students to earn some stage time in your room. This is a great chance to build community within your group and to allow them to potentially share some of their unique culture or experiences with their friends.

This is another classic, I still remember a friend of mine in 4th grade teaching us how his family makes molasses.

10. The Big Event

Build towards a pizza party or an ice cream social or a movie day or something else your kids will look forward to. 

Classroom Incentive Example

Keep It Simple, Keep Your Focus

Remember your goal when establishing an incentive program: You want to create the highest level of engagement in the most learner-friendly environment possible. 

Or you want to accelerate an already established positive learning environment you can add in attendance incentives. Keep it simple, keep it fun, and make it your own. Want incentives more specific to your grade level? Try our resources built around elementary school incentives, incentive ideas for middle school students, or incentives for high school students.

All Reward Ideas for Students

🎉
👑
🎁
Student Messenger
Grades 3-8
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Uber by a Principal
Grades 6-12
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Drop Lowest Quiz
Grades 3-12
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
♟️Chess With the Principal
Grades 6-12
Student
Privilege
Low Cost/DIY
🎉
👑
🎁
Talk Time
Grades 6-8
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Sweatshirt
Grades K-12
Student
Tangible
Deluxe
🎉
👑
🎁
Cut the Principal’s Tie
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Game Week
Grades 9-12
School
Event
Low Cost/DIY
🎉
👑
🎁
Silent Disco
Grades 6-12
Class/House
Event
Low Cost/DIY
🎉
👑
🎁
Podcast
Grades 3-12
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
School Spirit Day
Grades K-12
School
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Follow a Friend
Grades 6-8
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Snowball Fights (& Popsicles!)
Grades K-8
Class/House
Event
Low Cost/DIY
🎉
👑
🎁
Awards Show Afterparty
Grades 6-12
School
Event
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Fake The Funk
Grades 9-12
School
Event
Low Cost/DIY
🎉
👑
🎁
Snack Party
Grades 3-12
Class/House
Privilege
Low Cost/DIY

All Reward Ideas for Elementary School Students

🎉
👑
🎁
Class Jobs
Grades 3-8
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Backpack
Grades K-12
Student
Tangible
Deluxe
🎉
👑
🎁
Snowball Fights (& Popsicles!)
Grades K-8
Class/House
Event
Low Cost/DIY
🎉
👑
🎁
Sweatshirt
Grades K-12
Student
Tangible
Deluxe
🎉
👑
🎁
Brain Break
Grades K-12
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Extra Reading Time
Grades K-5
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Play Games
Grades 6-12
Class/House
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Toys
Grades K-8
Student
Tangible
Low Cost/DIY
🎉
👑
🎁
Class Book
Grades K-5
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Lunch Fast Pass
Grades 3-8
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Podcast
Grades 3-12
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Classroom DJ
Grades K-12
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Silly Science Experiments
Grades K-5
Class/House
Privilege
Low Cost/DIY
🎉
👑
🎁
Career Day
Grades 3-12
School
Event
Low Cost/DIY
🎉
👑
🎁
Loudspeaker Shoutout
Grades K-12
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Books
Grades K-12
Student
Tangible
Low Cost/DIY

All Event Ideas for Schools

All Free Reward Ideas for Schools

🎉
👑
🎁
Extra Reading Time
🎉
👑
🎁
House Induction
🎉
👑
🎁
Seating Choice
🎉
👑
🎁
Podcast
🎉
👑
🎁
The Big Ticket
🎉
👑
🎁
Tutor
🎉
👑
🎁
Meet the Teacher
🎉
👑
🎁
Lunch Concert
🎉
👑
🎁
Virtual Field Trip
🎉
👑
🎁
Blood Drive

All Reward Ideas for High School Students

🎉
👑
🎁
Teacher for the Day
Grades 6-12
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Get-to-Know-You Bingo
Grades 6-12
Class/House
Event
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Movie Night
Grades 9-12
Student
Event
Low Cost/DIY
🎉
👑
🎁
♟️Chess With the Principal
Grades 6-12
Student
Privilege
Low Cost/DIY
🎉
👑
🎁
Firebird of the Month
Grades K-12
Student
Event
Low Cost/DIY
🎉
👑
🎁
Silent Disco
Grades 6-12
Class/House
Event
Low Cost/DIY
🎉
👑
🎁
Seating Choice
Grades K-12
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Podcast
Grades 3-12
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
TikTok with the Teacher
Grades 6-12
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Meme Party
Grades 6-12
School
Event
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Fake The Funk
Grades 9-12
School
Event
Low Cost/DIY
🎉
👑
🎁
Digital Escape Rooms
Grades 6-12
Class/House
Privilege
Deluxe
🎉
👑
🎁
Bonfire
Grades 9-12
Class/House
Event
Deluxe
🎉
👑
🎁
Teacher Serenade
Grades K-12
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Silly School Leader
Grades 6-12
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Teacher v Student Competition
Grades 6-12
School
Privilege
Free

All Reward Ideas for Middle School Students

🎉
👑
🎁
Drop Lowest Quiz
Grades 3-12
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
School Assembly
Grades K-12
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
👑
🎁
Awards Show Afterparty
Grades 6-12
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Event
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Extra Computer Games
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Lunch with an Admin
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Vote
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Design the Bulletin Board
Grades K-12
Class/House
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Decades Party
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Event
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Podcast
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Student
Privilege
Free
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Wristband
Grades K-12
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School
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Lunch Concert
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Class/House
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Free
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Get-to-Know-You Bingo
Grades 6-12
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Event
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Grades 6-12
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House Induction
Grades 6-12
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Event
Free

All Student Reward & Incentive Ideas

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Assist the Custodian.
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Parking Spots
Grades 9-12
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Drop Lowest Quiz
Grades 3-12
Student
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Special Pen
Grades K-5
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💰
🎨
Game of Thrones
Grades K-5
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Privilege
Free
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Seating Choice
Grades K-12
Student
Privilege
Free
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🎨
Holiday Delivery
Grades K-12
Student
Tangible
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💰
🎨
Extra Computer Games
Grades 3-12
Student
Privilege
Free
💰
🎨
Toys
Grades K-8
Student
Tangible
Low Cost/DIY
💰
🎨
Books
Grades K-12
Student
Tangible
Low Cost/DIY
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🎨
Positive Note or Call Home
Grades K-12
Student
Privilege
Free
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🎨
Early Lunch Dismissal
Grades 9-12
Student
Privilege
Free
💰
🎨
Principal for a Day
Grades K-8
Student
Privilege
Free
💰
🎨
Line Leader
Grades K-5
Student
Privilege
Free
💰
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Teacher v Student Competition
Grades 6-12
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10 Incentives That Will Improve Student Motivation In Any Classroom

Incentives can increase participation and motivation, check out these 10 that can increase both for your students.
By 
Jordan Pruitt
 | 
April 26, 2023
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Smart businesses incentivize their employees with rewards and bonuses. These could be performance or attendance-based. Communities offer incentives for their citizens to participate in local projects.

The go-to for local groups to get participation? Food! Want a booster club meeting to be well attended? Bring some BBQ! 

The government offers incentives for larger actions as well. Does anybody remember “cash for clunkers”? Or more recently many places offered incentives for getting your Covid Vaccine and/or booster shot. 

When I began teaching I did not think about incentives as a classroom management tool. I felt like students should have an internal motivation to want to succeed. 

My preconception was flawed.

My students did have that internal motivation, but that doesn’t mean that external motivators weren’t still useful or in some cases necessary to use as accelerators to learning.

Why Do We Need Incentives?

Looking at the examples I listed above, it would seem that representatives from business, government, and education all agree that motivation matters. 

For our classroom, this could mean if the student isn’t motivated to participate, they won’t be successful. Some of us are intrinsically motivated. 

No matter what the task, we will try to do our very best. I find that this doesn’t often apply to every facet of our lives though.

Some of us are very motivated to go to work, but maybe not to exercise. Or you're very motivated to go for a walk, but you put off doing your taxes. We tend to be motivated to do the things we are good at or that we enjoy. I enjoy exercise, I make time for it and don’t skip it. 

I enjoy eating healthy considerably less so. So my diet requires some motivation. So I incentivized myself with “cheat day” rewards. 

I find that educators are normal folks who enjoyed school. Or that at the very least they were very successful in school. So they may not have needed much motivation. This can lead to some bias in our field and possibly some unrealistic expectations of our students. 

Many of our kids need the motivation to stay engaged and succeed at subjects or aspects of school that they may not love or excel in, to begin with. Just like I need to look forward to Taco Tuesday to get through my salad lunches the rest of the week.

Veteran educators know that self-motivated do exist but they are often the exception, not the rule. So how do we reach everyone else? Consistent use of incentives can help with morale and motivation. Not only can they help with the unmotivated, but they are also quite useful at pushing the internally motivated to exceed beyond expectations. 

Why would the fastest athlete want to run faster? Because there is a record to be set and a medal to be won for doing so. This is why I like to think of incentives not as a distraction from learning, but as a learning accelerator. 

Humans like to be recognized and rewarded, and when you do so, they are more likely to do so again. We all like to know that our effort is appreciated. Keep reading for some ideas on how to create incentive opportunities in your class. 

Incentives That Will Improve Motivation and Behavior

1. Stickers

A classic. Who doesn’t love a “good job” sticker?! They are cheap and surprisingly useful for all ages. 

Classroom Incentive Example

2. Time

Allow students to earn free time or screen time. Have trouble staying on task? Ask them to commit to 20 uninterrupted minutes of engagement to earn 5 minutes of free time. This also can help you chunk up your lessons.

3. Choice

Build in some extension activities your students can choose once they complete the required material.

My wife teaches elementary and she has built a mini-library of books and magazines for her students. Mostly free or very cheap from 2nd-hand book stores.

I taught high school science and I kept "STEM boxes" in my room. They were prepackaged STEM challenges that students could build if they had free time in my room.

Classroom Incentive Example

4. Music

I work better with music. I know this isn’t universal but I did find that the vast majority of my students enjoyed it when I would play music during class. 

I was late to this as a teacher though, I always assumed they wouldn’t like my taste in music or I couldn’t find school-appropriate tunes. Turns out the classics are classic for a reason! My go-to's were the 70s/80s rock playlists or classical music.

5. Candy

If you walked in to observe the start of my class you would find a bell ringer on the board. You would see students working on that task. 

If you stuck around to hear us go over the task you might also get tagged with a flying Jolly Rancher as it zips past you to one of my students who has answered the prompt correctly. 

6. Dance or Movement

A good brain break can go a long way. Similar to the incentive of time, except you will structure some movement breaks you or a student can lead if the class stays on task for x amount of time.

7. Coupons

Create a list of coupons your students can earn through good deeds. Be creative and keep it fun. The coupons can be things they save to build towards a larger reward or that they can use for specific purposes like an exit slip pass.

8. Mystery Box

Go to the dollar store and find a large bag of assorted toys or books. Add in a big bag of mixed candy. Put them in a box that conceals the contents and cut out a slot on top for students to reach in. 

The cost of the items should be negligible. The appeal here is the mystery of the contents.

Classroom Incentive Example

9. Show and Tell

Allow students to earn some stage time in your room. This is a great chance to build community within your group and to allow them to potentially share some of their unique culture or experiences with their friends.

This is another classic, I still remember a friend of mine in 4th grade teaching us how his family makes molasses.

10. The Big Event

Build towards a pizza party or an ice cream social or a movie day or something else your kids will look forward to. 

Classroom Incentive Example

Keep It Simple, Keep Your Focus

Remember your goal when establishing an incentive program: You want to create the highest level of engagement in the most learner-friendly environment possible. 

Or you want to accelerate an already established positive learning environment you can add in attendance incentives. Keep it simple, keep it fun, and make it your own. Want incentives more specific to your grade level? Try our resources built around elementary school incentives, incentive ideas for middle school students, or incentives for high school students.

All Reward Ideas for Students

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♟️Chess With the Principal
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Vote
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Graduation Celebration
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The Love Soiree
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Video Game Rewards
Grades 3-12
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Privilege
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Event
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Stickers
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Special Screening
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Glow Party
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Lunch Fast Pass
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Operate Equipment.
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Technology
Grades 6-12
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Brain Break
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Gift Cards
Grades 6-12
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Privilege
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Play Games
Grades 6-12
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Seating Choice
Grades K-12
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Privilege
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Grades K-12
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Show & Tell
Grades K-8
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Privilege
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Vote
Grades 6-8
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Privilege
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Student
Privilege
Low Cost/DIY
💰
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Sports Tickets
Grades 3-12
Student
Tangible
Deluxe
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Holiday Delivery
Grades K-12
Student
Tangible
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💰
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Homework Pass
Grades 6-12
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Privilege
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Grades 6-12
Student
Privilege
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Grades K-5
Student
Privilege
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Grades K-12
Student
Privilege
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Tutor
Grades 6-8
Student
Privilege
Free
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Extra Reading Time
Grades K-5
Student
Privilege
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Grades K-12
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Privilege
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All Virtual Reward Ideas for Schools

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Virtual Talent Show. 🎤
Grades 3-12
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Social Media Reporter
Grades 3-12
Student
Privilege
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Morning Meeting Leader
Grades 3-8
Student
Privilege
Free
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Brain Break
Grades K-12
Student
Privilege
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Donate $1
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Student
Privilege
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Certificate of Achievement
Grades K-12
Student
Privilege
Free
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Podcast
Grades 3-12
Student
Privilege
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Virtual Field Trip
Grades K-12
Class/House
Privilege
Free
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Digital Escape Rooms
Grades 6-12
Class/House
Privilege
Deluxe
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Positive Note or Call Home
Grades K-12
Student
Privilege
Free
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🎁
Teacher Q&A
Grades K-12
Class/House
Privilege
Free
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Classroom DJ
Grades K-12
Student
Privilege
Free
🎉
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Show & Tell
Grades K-8
Student
Privilege
Free
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Student Spotlight Board
Grades K-5
Student
Privilege
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Stickers
Grades K-5
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Tangible
Low Cost/DIY
🎉
👑
🎁
Extra Computer Games
Grades 3-12
Student
Privilege
Free
See all Rewards

Want more ideas?

Rewards that Rock 🎸 has 100+ rewards, incentives, and event ideas to build your school culture.
Find Rewards
Learn more about the author, 
Jordan Pruitt
 

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